2025-2026 School Choice Trends

What is School Choice?

School choice means giving parents the power to select the best educational environments for their children. Navigate School Choice celebrates all of the K-12 education options that parents can choose – or want to be able to choose – for their kids. These options include: traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online learning, homeschooling, and microschooling and mix-and-match learning.

Navigate School Choice does not prefer one type of choice above another. Instead, we believe that parents themselves are best qualified to make decisions for their children. This page provides an up-to-date overview of the school choice trends happening across the nation.

What’s New in 2025?

The school choice movement has been growing for over 30 years, and so far in 2025, 16 states created new or expanded existing school choice programs.

As school choices expand, families are talking. Reports show strong take-up rates of these new options as parents actively engage in comparing and choosing between learning choices. In a January 2025 parent survey, 60% of U.S. parents of school-aged children considered sending at least one of their children to a different school last year.

Open enrollment and traditional public schools are established by school districts and are available for children in all 50 states. These schools do not charge tuition. Open enrollment policies make it possible for parents to choose traditional public schools that are outside of their zone or district.

There are two types of open enrollment: intradistrict (choosing a school within your zoned district) and interdistrict (choosing a school in another district altogether).

There are currently more than 98,000 traditional public schools nationwide serving over 49.6 million children. That’s about 74.6% students attending public schools nationwide.

In 12 states parents may be able to select any traditional public school for their child, in any school district.

In 22 states, there are at least some situations where schools are required to participate in open enrollment. For example, some states guarantee open enrollment to families who wish to transfer out of a low-performing school, or families who live too far from their assigned school. In these states, parents meeting certain requirements are guaranteed choice. Open enrollment may be optional in other cases.

An additional 16 states have allowed districts and schools to decide whether to participate in open enrollment. In these cases, families must request and receive school district approval to use open enrollment. Access to public school transfers in these states vary widely – in some, transfers are readily available while in others, transfers are rarely permitted.

In 1 state, North Carolina, open enrollment is generally not permitted, but there are still select cases where families have access to “choice zones” or transfers.

Key States with Changes in 2025

Arkansas– Arkansas already had intradistrict and interdistrict open enrollment, and the law passed in May of 2025 strengthened these policies. This addition to the LEARNS Act lifts the cap on the number of public school transfers and requires schools to accept transferring students unless  they are at a specific capacity level (95% of seats filled), conflict with a desegregation order, or would push past the maximum student to teacher ratio. This new law also increases open enrollment transparency as school districts must report on the number of students who applied, were accepted, and their reasoning for denials.

Nevada– In June of 2025 Nevada passed a bill establishing a state-wide open enrollment system for intradistrict and interdistrict transfers. This law established oversight and transparancy by having the State Superintendent review school districts open enrollment policies, requiring districts to report vacancies by grade and school quarterly, establishing notification of the transfer application window 90 days prior, and giving priority for transfers to students zoned to low-performing schools.

For now it is up to districts to decide if they will provide transportation for transferring students; however, the Department of Public Instruction may establish a grant program in the future.

New Hampshire – In the spring of 2025 New Hampshire codified a statewide within-district open enrollment program. Students can now transfer to any public school in their residentially-assigned school district as long as the school has open seats.

Oklahoma– Military families in Oklahoma saw their open enrollment options increase this spring. HB 2259 allows students of military parents or guardians to make an intradistrict transfer (enroll in any public school within their school district) regardless of capacity at that school.

Charter schools are public schools that are free to attend and open to all students, including those with special needs. They are created by school districts, colleges, nonprofit organizations, or other entities. These schools are allowed to determine many of their own policies and practices; the goal is to innovate within the public school system.

There are currently about 7,800 charter schools in the U.S. serving about 3.7 million children. That’s about 6.6% students attending a public charter school nationwide.

47 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing for the creation of public charter schools, although North Dakota, Montana, and Kentuycky do not currently have any operating charter schools. The number of students in charter schools has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

Key States with Changes in 2025

Alaska– In Alaska, charter schools must apply to their local school district to open. The law passed in the spring of 2025 makes it so that an application can be submitted at any time during the school year for the upcoming school year. If the application is denied, schools can appeal to the state board of education.

Georgia– The potential for charter schools across Georgia expanded this spring as the State Charter Commission is now incentivizing local school districts to approve charter schools through grants. They are also requiring more transparency around the denials of charter school applications.

Nevada– Nevada increased the enrollment cap beyond the previous 7% – up to 15% per school – if the charter serves students zoned in a district or school labeled low-performing, persistently underperforming, or overcrowded. This bill also required that a charter school operations expert and two parents serve on the Charter Authority.

North Dakota– North Dakota is now the 47th state in the union with a charter school law! Although charter schools are now allowed to be created and operated in communities across the state, it may take up to one to two years before students can enroll in this type of school choice. The Department of Public Instruction will spend the next year or more developing the application and review process, after which they will begin accepting proposals to start new charter schools or convert existing schools into public charter schools.

Tennessee– Tennessee also expanded charter school choice by changing how charter schools are approved. Moving forward, charter schools can be authorized by the State Charter Commission directly instead of the public school district in their area.

Wyoming– Wyoming also increased its charter school cap this spring, allowing another charter school to operate in the state.

Magnet schools are public schools operated by school districts (or groups of school districts) that allow kids to focus on a specific learning track, such as STEM, medical science, or performing arts. At a magnet school, all subjects are taught through the lenses of the school’s specific track.

Magnet schools are free to attend and there are more than 4,300 magnet schools across the country serving about 3.5 million children. That’s about 4.9% students attending magnet schools nationwide. In addition, there are thousands of magnet programs within traditional public schools. Magnet schools, theme-based schools, or magnet programs are permitted in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming do not have any freestanding magnet schools.

Private schools are available in all 50 states. They charge tuition and may be faith-based or independent. Many private schools and nonprofit organizations offer scholarships for students. 

There are about 34,576 private schools nationwide serving about 4.7 million children. Nationwide, about 3,479,000 families pay out of pocket to attend private schools. 

In addition, 35 states offer official state-run programs that provide either a scholarship to private school (such as a tax-credit scholarship or an education savings account program) or private school tuition assistance (such as a tax deduction) for families. Of these states, 25 states offer official scholarship programs, 9 states offer both scholarship and deduction programs, and 1 state offers only a deduction program. 

Currently, over 972,000 nationwide are participating in a private school choice program.

Find jargon-free explanations of education savings accounts and tax-credit scholarships in our Education Glossary. For full details of your state’s private school scholarship and deduction availability, you may wish to directly contact a local or state-based school choice organization.

Key States with Changes in 2025

Alabama– In response to the large number of applications the program received, funding for the CHOOSE Act was nearly doubled from $100 million to $188 million total.

Georgia– Georgia fully funded the Promise Scholarship Program in the spring of 2025. This ESA is available to low-income students who are assigned to lower-performing public schools, although it may become universal in the future. Participating private schools are required to be accredited and meet assessment requirements.

Idaho– Idaho was the second state in 2025 to enact or launch a private school choice program, the Idaho Parental Tax-Credit Program. This program allows expenses for private school tuition, tutoring, standardized testing, and textbooks to be claimed for a refundable tax credit. Priority for this program is given to lower-income families.

Indiana – Eligibility for Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program is now universal, meaning that any student in the state is eligible. 

Iowa – In May of 2025 Iowa passed legislation that allows private school students to play sports at their local public school if their private school has not offered the sport for the last two years and they do not already have a sports sharing agreement in place with a specific school. The fees for playing at your local public school as a private school student cannot be more than what a public school student is charged.

New Hampshire– New Hampshire created universal eligibility for its Education Freedom Account program by removing the current income cap.

Oklahoma– Oklahoma also made improvements to several funding programs for private school choice. This expansion included unused funds from the Parental Choice Tax Credit rolling over to the next school year and increased flexibility to the accreditation requirements needed for schools to participate in the program.

South Carolina– South Carolina reimagined the Education Scholarship Trust Fund. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the state passed an identically named program in 2023 that was struck down by the South Carolina Supreme Court later that same year. In May of 2025 the legislature passed, and Governor McMaster signed, a new bill modifying the program for the upcoming 2025-26 school year!

Starting this fall the program will offer about 10,000 scholarships of $7,500 per student. Approved educational expenses include tutoring, technology, or even fees associated with open enrollment.

Tennessee– Starting in the 2025-26 school year, families will have access to new scholarship opportunities. The Tennessee Education Freedom Act, available to all K-12 students in the state, offers eligible families up to $7,300 in a savings account that can be used for educational expenses including private school tuition, textbooks, transportation, educational electronics, therapies, dual enrollment, and more. 

Texas– Texas established a universal Education Savings Account, providing tens of thousands of families with funds starting in the 2026-27 school year. The funds can be used for a wide range of education expenses like private school tuition, tutoring, transportation, and more. Different levels of funding will be provided based on the education setting and students will be prioritized if demand exceeds available funding, with ESAs first going to students who are eligible for an IEP, then by family  income level, and finally open eligibility.

Utah– The Utah Fits All program was ruled unconstitutional in April of 2025 in the state court, but will be allowed to continue while the case is appealed to the next level of the court system.

Vermont – In July of 2025 Vermont updated its town tuitioning program prohibiting funds from being used in private schools in neighboring states, at private schools which are in a district where the public school district offers the student’s grade level, or at a private school where more than 25% of students are using town tuitioning. Students currently utilizing the program are grandfathered in and can continue to attend their school.

Wyoming– Wyoming renamed its ESA program to the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship and increased eligibility to every student in the state, including those in Pre-K.

Virtual academies instruct students through online or digital curricula. In the U.S., approximately 564,000 K-12 students attended a full-time online school for the 2022-23 school year.

In 42 states and D.C., online public schools have been established by state authorities, by school districts, or charter schools, meaning students can attend these schools full-time, tuition-free for all grades K-12. In Vermont, free, full-time online public school is available for grades K-8. In Kentucky, free, full-time online public school is available for grades K-11. 

In addition, more than 30 states offer part-time online public schooling through course access, which allows students to use online coursework to supplement their education with specific classes. In many states, this is accessible, and sometimes even free, for private school or homeschooled students.

Key States with Changes in 2025

Florida– Florida passed a law allowing students enrolled in a full-time virtual school to play on the athletic teams of their local school district or to enter into an agreement to participate at a private school.

Texas– Texas also passed legislation relating to online learning. With this new law, public schools have to advertise their online offerings to families and offer extracurriculars to online students.

Homeschooling is the process of parents educating children in the home, and many families choose to collaborate via tutorials, co-operatives, and extracurricular leagues to enhance the home education experience. 

Enrollment in homeschool programs nearly doubled from 1999 (0.9 million) to 2016 (1.7 million). In 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic, more than 2 million children (more than 3% of the American student population) were educated in their home. As of 2023, over 1.7 million students across the country were homeschooled. Depending on the criteria used, an estimated 3%-5% of students are homeschooled.

All 50 states allow homeschooling, but laws regulating it vary widely from state to state.

Today, many families are finding the flexibility, customization,  and community they desire in learning arrangements at least partially outside their traditional public school or parochial school. 

Today, microschools currently serve an average of 16 students. Of these, 85% serve students ages 5-11, 66% serve students ages 12-14, and 16% serve those ages 15-18. 

The number of families participating in microschooling or mix-and-match learning is hard to judge – many are legally registered as homeschoolers or private schoolers. Regardless of the legal definition, one thing they all share is an entrepreneurial mindset that sets them apart.

Read more at the complete guide to microschooling and mix-and-match learning.